Australian Open 2012: Andy Murray recovers from sluggish start to wrap up four-set win over Ryan Harrison

So here it was: our first proper look at Andy Murray, the 2012 model, as he
took on Ryan Harrison in the 35-degree crucible of Hisense Arena. Would we
see the fruits of his new collaboration with Ivan Lendl? The short answer is
“yes - up to a point”.

Up and running: Andy Murray recovered from dropping the first set to beat Ryan HarrisonPhoto: GETTY IMAGES

The essentials of Murray’s game might not have changed, but you could tell he was making a mighty effort to keep a lid on his emotions.

As expected, Harrison proved to be a seriously awkward first-round opponent, taking the opening set 6-4 with a series of stunning points, and then keeping Murray out on court for fully three hours and 12 minutes.

But there was none of the usual Murray griping and chuntering in the direction of his corner. The angriest he got was during an odd little outburst about his footwear. Perhaps now that he is not allowed to rant at his coaches any more, he is going to concentrate his scorn on his equipment.

Harrison is an unruly 19 year-old with strangely obedient hair, who resembles a cross between the Swiss No 2 Stan Wawrinka and Zac Efron from High School Musical. The supporters calling out his name at changeovers tended to have squeaky voices.

Harrison brings many things to the court: a magnificent second serve, a zippy forehand up the line, but perhaps his most valuable quality is his fearlessness. As Murray said afterwards, “I remember being in that position when I was younger, where there’s not so much pressure on you. He came out swinging and hit some great shots.”

During that first set, Murray’s own game refused to click into its groove. You could feel the sense of expectation weighing heavily on him, as he was just a split-second slower to the ball than normal.

Time after time, he found himself jumping into wide forehands, his body not quite balanced, and slapping them into the net. He finished the set with a count of 17 unforced errors, and the big screen flashed up a picture of Lendl looking pensive.

In the second set, though, Murray did what he does best: he squeezed his opponent, like a boa constrictor tightening its coils. Harrison found that his serves were all coming back, which is always a disconcerting feeling for a player who is used to picking up a few free points. As for the errors, they almost dried up completely, as Murray committed just six in the set.

Now we began to see the tempestuous side of Harrison, a player the umpires tend to keep a close eye on. The only warning he received was for a time violation, but there could have been others: racket abuse (for twice sending his racket spinning across the Plexicushion), audible obscenity (this one is best left to your imagination) and general brattishness (kicking balls around the court).

The third set was a dogfight, lasting just under an hour. Murray broke Harrison’s serve in the very first game, and had plenty more break points to take a decisive lead, but he just couldn’t grab them. (He did, however, grab his knees and his hamstrings a couple of times, in that anxious habit he has when matches are tight.)

Here is the next thing that Lendl might want to work on – a killer instinct, because Murray remains too prone to sitting back in the big points and waiting for his opponent to make a mistake.

If conserving energy in the early stages of Grand Slams is a priority – and Murray himself has all but admitted as much – then he has to be more ruthless in the way he not only pushes his opponent over the precipice but then stamps on his fingers as he dangles.

Still, the scoreboard was ticking along in the right direction, even if it was taking longer than Mr Lendl (as Murray respectfully referred to him in Brisbane ten days ago) would have liked.

Harrison’s face was turning a beetroot colour, as Murray kept working him side to side, forehand corner to backhand corner. And by the fourth set, Murray was finally beginning to put some juice into those groundstrokes. As the sun began to drop behind the retractable roof of Hisense Arena, Harrison floated a backhand long and the job was done, by a scoreline of 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

“You don’t want to play your best tennis until the later stages of the tournament,” Murray said afterwards, “but I was happy to get through. He made me do a lot of running, so in the next round I’ll try to play a little closer to the baseline.”

As usual, then, Murray had avoided the nightmare scenario where all the British players go out in the first round. Now he will now face Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the second round on Thursday.

Roger-Vasselin had a rather easier passage as Xavier Malisse pulled out of their match after the first set. But he is ranked only 101 in the world, 24 places below the up-and-coming Harrison. It should be a more straightforward encounter.